Reptile & Amphibian Forums

okay hudge fight about the smell of the beardies cage and the darn crics...i hate those things...okay, she swears there is a smell to my "stupid lizards" cage, and him in general...i have no clue what to do...is simple green okay to use? or whatelse could i use, bleach scares me so i dont really want to use that, or is that the best? what was that one/...nolvosan or something? and with the crics...we live in a two bedroom two bath apartment...my beardie and all his supplies are in the study room, where she spends alot of time, and the cage is literally like 2 feet from her desk...she wont have it in any other room either...i know the crics smell but she wont do roaches, and for my budget silkies are out of the question this time of year..(bc im in ohio and its umm FREEZING, and with over night charges and all the extra cold weather charges i cant afford to feed those right now) mostly i need to get rid of the smell with the beardie and his cage....(i seriously dont smell it i just think she is anal about cleanliness, and smells and things like that, seriously i need help right now she has the attitude that its either my lizard goes or i do i told her to help me pack but then she said just try and make it better, oh and she also says that a glade plugin or some other type of air freshener wont work bc "it only covers up the smell it doesnt get rid of it.." i guess there goes my idea of a herp room in our house LOL

Hey there,
I havent had my beardy long, but I have noticed a smell to the feces. What kind of substrate are you using, and how often do you clean it? There are cleaners which are environmentally friendly (I have fish birds and frogs, so I used them often), dilute (1 part bleach to 10 parts water) bleach solution would work just fine provided you let it dry completely and then rinsed it with water. THis method of disinfecting is often used in vets offices. how many crickets do you have? And what are you housing the crics in? Good ventiliation can help diminish the smell, because the feces are what smell. It's too bad your girlfriend isnt respecting your love of lizards, but maybe clearing up the smell and maintaining will help keep the dragon hate to a minimum. Good luck

Rachel

i use shelf liner for my substrate and i clean it about every 3 days, he never goes in there though bc i bathe him everyday and he goes in the water but when he does go i clean it asap i house the 1000 crics i have in a 35 gallon rubbermade and ventalation is out of the question bc its so darn cold out side...its like 10 right now (F that is) and my beardie is right by the window...idk what to do

Yeah, that is strange that she is complaining about a lizard smell, maybe she is confusing the crik smell with the liz. The smell of a lizard certainaly isnt strong, especially if there are no feces lying around. That sucks about the cricks, those damn things reek. I guess one idea might be giving your crickets a fragrant substrate (anyone tried this?), like wood shavings of some sort, but then you risk the crickets eating those if food is scarce, and your dragon literally eating nothing but sawdust. I would bleach the shelf liners in a dilute solution each time you clean them, the bleach will kill any smells hanging around, and maybe soap up his furniture with the simple green. I used to work in a raptor shelter, and we used the simple green for waterers safely. Birds are highly susceptible to any kind of toxin, so if its safe with them, its most likely safe with the lizards, i would just rinse everything well to be safe. Good luck!

I have used a combo of dawn dish washing soap & hand sanitizer to clean up my cage,rocks,basking spots & stuff like that. Dawn is what the rescue crews use to clean up the animals after oil spills. You can try putting a potted plant that smells good next the cage. That would be a good natural way of masking the odor but either way I think she'll still say it smells.
Lance
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1 male bearded dragon named Lenny
1 femal bearded dragon named Jewels
1 male or female mali uro named Milo or molly (not sure anymore)

I think substrate is a big culprit of odor. Especially sand. Stuff kind of sinks to the bottom and soaks in.
Maybe give the shelf liner a shot? (Duck brand). It's real simple to keep clean and change.
(Sneak a dryer sheet under the heat vent in that room.)
As far as crix.. maybe you could switch them to pellets instead.
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www.classylizard.com
Home of the Classy Lizard Hammock

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Im pretty sure that it is the cricket smell that is bothering your roomate. I would first clean the way others have shown you, and also - just get roaches. Dont tell her. Obviously get the ones that cant climb walls just in case lol. But just say them by the latin name (Bennetts idea below, lol). Or just tell her, IF SHE ASKS, that they are a new type of cricket. Roaches have LITTLE to NO smell, and are very healthy. Finish up these crix if you have that many left, and try some roaches. Orange-headed are good, and I beleive there were others mentioned below in a post be PHEve.

Good luck!

David
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KDRKreatures.com
Exotic Reptile Breeders - Specializing in Bearded Dragons

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LOL, she doesn't leave very many options does she? I know you guys are trying to "work it out" but she sounds pretty damn unreasonable unless she's getting it exactly her way. I'd say if you have any questions about her then drop her and go find yourself a nice little herper girl to pet your snake lol. Is this one really worth this much work and frustration?

Sean
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Heart Mountain Herps

i dont know, i thougth she was worth it, and still do i think, she is just so damn anal about cleanliness and stuff its drives me insane...lol...oh well, she can deal with it or move out

and what was that cleaner you use? do you use bleach or that nolvosan stuff i remember reading about

I use novolsan.

Sean
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Heart Mountain Herps

dont know what veggies you are feeding but stop feeding carrets and lettece it makes there stool runny and smelly you can feed bell peppers and tomatos to enhance color and turnup greens for staple